Select committee: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Conclusion 16
2nd Report - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2018–19
Published 3 Jul 2020
Paragraph 57
Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2018-19 All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
There are obvious advantages to improving complaints handling by frontline bodies. If people are satisfied with the way their complaint has been handled in the first instance, this means they will feel they have had a more efficient resolution to their complaint and they will be less likely to pursue a complaint with the PHSO. The Committee supports the PHSO’s work on the Complaints Standards Framework and will seek an update at the next scrutiny session on how that framework is received and how its effectiveness is being monitored.
From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, 2nd Report - Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman Scrutiny 2018–19 (HC 117), paragraph 57, 3 July 2020
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 28 September 2020 (deadline 3 September 2020).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) welcomes the Committee's report and responds to each recommendation, agreeing with most and endorsing the call for a fresh start on Ombudsman reform legislation.
- On explaining its decisions, PHSO agrees there is a need to improve how it explains how it gathers and uses evidence. It says it no longer publishes internal process scores against the Service Charter, which have been replaced by a Quality Assurance Framework.
- On Covid-19 and timeliness, PHSO agrees transparency matters and is "currently considering how to present this information in the next Annual Report". On clinical advice, it says planned changes "may" be delayed and that it will conduct an independent evaluation during the next Peer Review.
- On legislation, PHSO "fully endorse[s]" starting the process anew and calls on the Government to revisit its plans for a single Public Service Ombudsman. It also supports removing the 'MP filter', calling the status quo "an outdated barrier to accessing justice".
- PHSO accepts the recommendation on compliance reporting and says it will "explore how best to report on compliance in the 2020–21 Annual Report". On the Complaints Standards Framework, it says the consultation will conclude by the autumn and it plans to pilot the Framework once finalised.